New York.-- Three legal actions involving…

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PRESS RELEASE @ ® 

NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND 
10 COLUMBUS CIRCLE + NEW YORK 19,N.Y. © JUdson 6-8397 

DR. ALLAN KNIGHT CHALMERS oS THURGOOD MARSHALL 
President Director-Counsel 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

February 28, 1958 

NEW YORK.--Three legal actions involving the constitutional rights 

of Negroes were taken this week by attorneys for the NAACP Legal 

Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. One was in the Little Rock High 

School case and two were continuing efforts to gain the admission of 

Virgil Hawkins to the University of Florida Law School. 

Little Rock School Case 

In the Little Rock case a brief was filed on February 26 with the 

U. S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit in St. Louis by NAACP Legal 

Defense and Educational Fund attorneys. They urged the court to affirm 

a judgment of a district court which prohibited interference with the 

Little Rock's court approved plan to integrate its high schools. 

On August 29, 1957, a state court order was obtained by a 

Mrs. Clyde Thomason, a white parent and taxpayer, which restrained the 

school board from proceeding with its plan to integrate and, in effect, 

overrode the judgments and decrees of federal courts approving the plan 

On the same day the Little Rock school board petitioned the U. S. 

District Court to enjoin Mrs, Thomason from using the state court order 

This injunction was granted and the Little Rock high school proceeded 

to desegregate. 

Attorneys for the Negro students are Wiley A. Branton of Pine 

Bluff, Ark., and Thurgood Marshall, director-counsel of the NAACP Legal 

Defense and Educational Fund staff in New York. 

Virgil Hawkins Case 

Virgil Hawkins, who has been seeking admission to the School of 

Law of the University of Florida since 1949, appealed to the United 

States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, La., on 

February 28, from the refusal of U. S. District Judge Dozier DeVane of 

Tallahassee, Fla, to issue a preliminary injunction in Hawkins' latest 

court action so that he could be admitted to the school without further 

delay. 



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Mr. Hawkins filed his suit in the federal district court in 

Tallahassee, Fla, January lh, 1958, at the suggestion of the U. S. 

Supreme Court after the Florida Supreme Court refused for the third 

time to issue an order for his leponnt admission despite the fact that 

the high Court had ruled him entitled to prompt admission on several 

prior appeals, 

When Hawkins filed his notice of appeal with the District Court, 

the Attorney General of Florida, Richard Ervin, asked the court for an 

order staying, in effect, all further proceedings in the case until the 

Court of Appeals acted upon his appeal, The district court granted the 

order. As a result, Hawkins is now prohibited from pressing his case 

to a final decision which would enable him to be admitted to the 

September 1958 term. 

In view of this action Mr. Hawkins! attorneys have also petitioned 

the Court of Appeals to issue a writ of mandemus directing Judge Dozier 

DeVane to proceed with the case pending the appeal. 

Attorneys for Hawkins are Francisco A. Rodriguez of Tampa, Fla., 

‘hurgood Marshall and Mrs. Constance Baker Motley, both of New York, 

The filing of these three court matters bringsto six the number of 

legal actions taken in the month of February by the NAACP Legal Defense 

and Educational Fund attorneys in behalf of persons whose constitutional 

sights are being violated. In addition to the three matters referred to 

above, memorandum briefs were filed in the Nashville, Tenn. school case 

om February 3 and in the Memphis, Tenn, bus case on February 11, The 

J, S. Supreme Court was petitioned on February 12 to review the convic- 

sion of one white and two Negro college youths for violating the 

‘allahassee, Fla. bus segregation law, 

In addition, favorable and important decisions were rendered in 

aven cases during the month of February. They are: (1) the Arlington 

ounty, Va. school case, (2-l) the three cases attacking Louisiana's 

ew law requiring certificates of good moral character from the high 

¢hool principal of any Negro seeking admission to a white college in 

he state in the face of another statute which makes it grounds for dis- 

harge for a principal to do anything to bring about integration in 

ouisiana, (5) the New Orleans, La. school case, (6) the New Orleans 

uublic golf course case, and (7) the New Orleans bus segregation case, 

In each of these cases, federal appellate courts affirmed lower 
ourt rulings in favor of Negro plaintiffs, 

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